Dow, S&P 500 trade mostly lower after Fed hikes rates for second time in 2018

U.S. stocks mostly slumped on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve lifted interest rates for the second time this year and the seventh time since beginning its monetary-policy normalization imitative in December of 2015. The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee lifted the federal-funds rate to a range between 1.75% to 2%, from 1.5% to 1.75%, marking the second rate hike this year and the seventh move since the start of the tightening cycle in December of 2015. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.16% was down 45 points, or 0.2%, at 25,277, the S&P 500 index SXP, +2.31% fell 4 points, or 0.2%, at 2,782, while the Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +0.20% climbed 11 points, or 0.1%, at 7,714. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is slated to hold a news conference at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time. For a live blog of the Fed decision go here.